The Effects of Stretching Jinxes
by forsalazarssake
Summary: After the summer holidays Lily Evans returns for her fifth year at Hogwarts to notice that James Potter has gone through puberty. Most significantly, she notices he is now a lot taller and the height difference is getting on her nerves. Two-shot Jily fic. Second chapter is a bit smutty so rated M to be safe. Hope you enjoy the story, reviews would make my day!
1. The Dwarf and the Giant

In first year, Lily Evans had hesitated to walk up to the short, worn down stool on which the Sorting Hat sat. After the triumphant shout of "Gryffindor" from the wrinkled, leather hat she had practically run to the table to join her housemates. Startled by the hat barking at her, which she had assumed to be inanimate, and excited to be joining Hogwarts at last, she plodded down on the wooden bench and was met with pats on the back and cheers of "congratulations!" and "welcome!".

At the end of Dumbledore's welcoming speech, the food had magically, yes literally magically, appeared on their plates and most of the first years had tucked in. Lily was wary at first, not having much experience with magic, but soon found that the aroma of the roast potatoes and parsnips, the steaming of the vegetables and the juicy smell of the roast were too enticing. It smelt like home and her mother's Sunday roast. Like comfort. The two boys further down the table eating like ravenous hippogriffs were not as cautious as Lily, obviously having experienced magic before and each having the appetite of thirty men. Lily wrinkled her nose as they piled mounds upon mounds of food onto their plates, eating a sickening amount for their size. These two young shrimpy first years were nothing like what Lily saw on the Hogwarts Express this year; her sixth year at Hogwarts.

And before summer, although the charming Sirius Black had grown into a young man who was very much popular with the opposite sex, James Potter was lacking in the "man" department. It would be wrong to say that he was not considered attractive. That would be very wrong as he was the subject of many a girl's conversation, and had been found in many a broom closet by Prefects on patrol. No, he was not looking for brooms or any other cleaning equipment, but in fact was often found trying to find a girls tonsils with his tongue. He had been a wiry boy, of average height who was thought to be attractive for his pretty-boy looks, despite his small build. Before summer, during their fifth year, she had been nose to nose with him as she barked at him that she "would rather date the Giant squid!". In fact he had shrunk the second he realised what she was saying, at which point he had felt as though she were towering over him as he withdrew from the sting of her words. Returning from her holidays this year, that was not the case.

He had grown. This was not just the normal pubescent growth spurt which all boys seem to go through during their mid-teens. No, this was anything but normal. It was as though he had suffered from a particularly severe stretching jinx having grown at least a full five inches since she had last seen him; now significantly taller than Peter and noticeably taller than both Remus and Sirius. She realised this when she was dragging her luggage across Platfrom 9 ¾ and paused to teeter on her toes, gazing over the heads of her fellow students to try and spot Marlene McKinnon or Mary McDonald (her best friends and roommates since first year). Instead she saw that mound of dishevelled black hair above the crowd. Scowling she dropped back down off her toes and continued to meander through the dense crowds, hearing a boy weeping to his mother that he would miss her and seeing a girl hug her siblings goodbye. Where were her bloody friends? It was unlike them not to be early, but Lily was impatient by nature so she decided not to wait on the platform for them and hoped to find them later during the long train journey.

She found herself in a small compartment awaiting the arrival of her friends. She leaned her head against the freezing glass of the window and listened to the conductor shouting at the students that the train was preparing to leave in fifteen minutes. The low hum of the conversations outside as well as the hubbub of the students now on the train in the surrounding compartments made her smile while reminiscing on memories of previous journeys to Hogwarts. "This year will be a better year", she thought. She could feel it. Her thoughts then drifted elsewhere…

_How tall was he now? She did not know, and did not care. But was he taller than her now? What did she care? She didn't._ That was not the only thing that had changed about him though. She had kept her eyes on him as he loaded his trunk onto the train and saw the outline of Potter's muscles tighten through his shirt. Those had definitely got bigger. She told herself she had only noted this as she believed it would improve Gryffindor's chances in the Quidditch Cup, with Potter being a stronger player and all that. On top of that his face had become more angular, his jaw had become stronger and his eyes had become more electric. He was now what adults referred to as a "young man" and not a boy, and Lily could not help but agree with them, because with his ridiculous height no one would could mistake him for anything else.

She checked her watch and realised it was another ten minutes before the train was due to leave and so she decided to take a walk along the carriage in the hopes she would find one of her long lost friends. Glancing into the compartments as she passed them she looked for the wispy blonde hair of Marlene or the dark braided hair of Mary. With no success she continued down the long corridor of the train carriage and her eyes widened when she saw the bird's nest of hair being ruffled by its owner and accidently caught his eye. Her eyes immediately flitted away, trying to avoid the awkwardness of an encounter with the boy who she had publically berated and rejected last year. As her eyes struggled to find another object to focus on she caught the stormy grey eyes of Sirius Black, and the skin around his eyes crinkled as his face broke into a wide grin. Crap.

As much as she loved Sirius he did love to make a scene. She shot him a look that said "Don't you even dare mentioning it", referring to the debacle that occurred between her and Potter by the lake at the end of last term, and then approached the door to the compartment which contained the Marauders. She slid it open and was met with the smell of smoke, and turned to see that Peter's eyebrows were singed and the shirt he was wearing was lightly smoking after losing a game of Exploding Snap to Remus. She pulled out her wand to perform an extinguishing spell, reached out her arm and-

"Agh! Sirius!" she shrieked as she fell into his chest. He had tugged her arm hard causing her to collapse into him, laughing as he squeezed her in a bear hug and ruffled her hair. "Ow! Godric's sake you're going to suffocate me!" she panted as she finished laughing, and finally was released.

"Just happy to see you Evans!" he replied, with a beaming smile. The whole time James had been looking at the scene quite uncomfortably, wishing he did not feel jealous of Sirius and even angry at him for being such good friends with her. After all it wasn't his fault that he got to spend so much time with Lily. In fact it was McGonagall's. Deciding that the Marauder's had to be split up for their coursework assignments, she had paired James off with a random Ravenclaw girl and Sirius got to be Lily's partner. From the perfect, hardworking ginger and the mischevious troublemaker had been good friends and it just _wasn't_ fair! McGonagall just wouldn't give him a break.

Nonetheless, James decided to continue to feel uncomfortable and stay silent than to remind her of his actions last year. He really was an idiot. He literally had the same level of common sense as a troll, asking a girl out after attacking her friend. At this point, he still did not regret what he did to Snape, after all in his head, all Slytherins were bad and he had grown up associating them with evil. He was right in regards to Severus too as the pale, unhealthy looking boy had screamed "Mudblood!" at Lily when she had tried to help him. So no, he didn't really regret it. But he did regret upsetting Evans. He really, really really did. He was going to try to act normal around her. He would not ask her out again, not after his first attempt had gone so badly wrong. He realised he was staring and fortunately turned away just as she looked up at him.

Brushing herself off after her tousle with Sirius, she took another glance at him. He seemed apprehensive. There was a vulnerability she had never seen in his yellow flecked eyes. She felt slightly sick as she realised that this was because of her. She had been right to reject him. She had been right to berate him about bullying her best mate Sev, well ex-best mate now- but regardless, he shouldn't have been levitating, taunting and jeering at Snape. She was wrong, however, for the way in which she went about it. It was cruel. She had acted almost as badly to him as he had been acting towards Severus. By publically mocking and lashing out at him she had stooped to his level.

"I'm sorry for the way things ended last year" she blurted out. Colour rose to her cheeks as she realised how stupid she sounded, in front of Remus and Sirius no less.

"Red, you're blushing" chuckled Sirius who then suddenly shut up when she glared furiously at him. Desperately wanting to end her experience in the Marauders compartment, but unable to leave that final statement hanging, she reached out her hand and offered "Truce?"

"Don't feel like you have to- I mean I was really stupid and I understa-"

"I know you were stupid" she grinned, even if it was forced. "But I'm willing to leave that in the past if you are?"

"Umm…okay?" he agreed, unsure of whether it was a trick.

"I mean if you don't want to accept my offer of frien-"

"No! No, of course I do!"

"Good", she grinned teasingly, "I don't like holding grudges".

She was invited to sit with them for a while and with no better prospects she slumped down onto the cushioned seat next to Sirius and Potter. She discussed her summer, the holiday work which they had been set (which, surprise, surprise, only Remus had completed) and their adventures in Wizarding London and on the Potter estate. She sat comfortably, shifted more towards Sirius' side of the seat as they all gabbled on. However, she was painfully aware of Potter next to her. She did not understand why but every movement of his head, every time he ruffled his hair with his hand and every time he quirked an eyebrow or broke into a grin she felt it. She did not want to look in case he caught her so she made a special effort to look at the other boys or directly in front of her. Having him so close to her was making her neck and cheeks heat up. It made her hold her breath.

She must have felt nervous over the fact this was new territory with James Potter. Their relationship for the past five years had been him playing pranks on her in vain attempt to try and get her attention, teasing her and in more recent years, completely ignoring her for other girls (which he had hoped would make her jealous- and was correct, though she would never admit it). Now suddenly they were friends? She had not forgotten the teasing, the pranks and the demand he had made for her to date him last year, but she was willing to forgive.

Why she was hyper-aware of every movement he made was unknown to her, but to the other three boys in the compartment it was clear as day. Both Lily and James had been stealing glances at each other throughout the conversation, they had both been a bit more fidgety than usual and both seemed to be genuinely getting along. The train had moved out of the station a while ago and the pair had been heavily involved in the groups conversation. Then James had made a comment specifically addressed to Lily and for the past fifteen minutes, they had been in their own private and apparently very funny conversation.

"Oh how very interesting Evans… don't tell me all you did all summer was read!"

"At least I know how to read!"

"I got the same number of OWL's as you!" he replied indignantly.

"Exactly, so don't try and make out that you don't read or study Potter"

"Touche!" He accepted the insult and changed the subject quickly. Although they weren't friends as she had said, they could be civil, and although their back-and-forth jokes were laced with a venom which they could not stop using after all these years, they meant no harm towards each other.

Catching Sirius' eye he saw that his fellow Marauder was sulking. James realised him and Lily had been so enraptured in their own conversation they had left out the others. Although secretly proud that he could capture the sole attention of the talented and witty Lily Evans, he mostly felt bad for only just realising his mistake in leaving his friends out. As Lily finished her sentence, he announced that he would go to the trolley, in the hopes that offering Sirius food would appease him. It always worked, so James jumped up and took his friends' orders before leaving.

"A chocolate frog, four liquorice wands, a pumpkin pastie…" began Sirius.

"Oh and Jelly Slugs!"

"Every Flavour Beans for me please…and I'll get a frog too actually"

"…Acid Pops, Fizzing Whizbees and some Sugar Quills" Sirius finished.

"Sure you can afford that?" smirked James.

"I'll pay you back" promised Sirius.

"Like hell you will" chuckled James. He knew Sirius would forget within five minutes of borrowing the money and he would never ask Padfoot to pay him back as money meant almost nothing to him. He was born into fortune and appreciated that he was a very lucky child.

While James had been taking orders from his friends for the sweets trolley Lily had risen, realising that she had stayed far too long and should probably begin her search for her friends again. But as she had stood she gazed up at his figure, his now wide sloping shoulders and bulkier arms.

"Is she looking at me? Ha, you wish! Okay, but she just looking so adorable like that. Wait why is she blushing? Oh Godric, it's probably because you're staring at her. Think fast! Just smile at her, youre 'friends' now!" thought James as he rambled this inner monologue.

He had caught her gazing at him and smirked. She _hated_ when he did that.

Her expression hardened and she rose to her full height, she turned quickly to wave goodbye to the other Marauders and announce that she had to go and find her friends, and stalked out of the compartment. James was left confused. With a quizzical look on his face he sighed as she strutted away from him. He turned to meet the trolley lady who was moving towards him from the end of the carriage. He listed the sweets he wanted and she stuffed them into a paper bag as he asked politely how her day had been. She beamed at him: "Oh very busy, two girls just bought the last of those Acid Pops though- pretty blonde she was and with the amount she ordered it was a wonder she was so skinny- they seemed to have lost their friend though, asking about a red head…"

She continued her ramblings but James quickly interrupted when he realised she was talking about Marlene and Mary. "Which way did they go?" he questioned.

"That way" she pointed in the opposite direction to which Lily had walked in. "Now dear, that'll be one Galleon" she said as he handed her the coin.

He thanked her, grabbed the bag and tore down the carriage, following Lily. He knew how long the Hogwarts Express went on for and if she walked all the way to the end of the train and found that her search had been pointless, he was sure that her friends would be thrown off of the Astronomy Tower that night.

There he saw her red wisps of hair swaying with the bounce in her step. "Lily! Oi, Lily! Evans! _Hello_?! Evans?" he bellowed, hoping he could catch her attention before she moved into another cart. He moved faster, past the lower years who congregated in the walkways of the carriages. Lily heard him calling her and moved faster. _She was irritable after he had acted so smug and she had just embarrassed herself by gawking at him and now he was coming to gloat and why had she done that, Agrippa's sake! _Excusing herself, her slim figure weaved around her fellow students but she could hear his heavy footfalls thudding closer and closer to her.

"OI! SHORT STUFF" he yelled and silenced the whole carriage. She winced as she realised he knew she must have heard that. She had been silently fuming for her entire walk, and now he had just called her "short stuff".

"I have a name, Potter" she spat venomously. Taken back by her sudden change in nature, James stumbled on his words for a second and then regained his composure. With all the younger years expecting a cocky remark, he decided to give them a show. This was after all, what he and Lily did best, he reminded himself bitterly.

"I'm sorry what was it again, squirt?" he said, in a spectacularly patronising tone.

"If you so much as dare call me that again I will lock you in that toilet compartment so hopefully you will catch the ride back to London and away from me!"

"As long as you join me in there, Evans" he winked. Winding her up was just too easy for him. He enjoyed the way she crinkled her nose, even if it was in disgust… and the way she flushed a lovely pink colour when she got vehemently angry and even the coldness in her eyes was beautiful. It strengthened the intensity of her glare, but also made him want to drive her into a wilder frenzy, if only to deepen their dazzling green.

"Keep dreaming Potter" she bit back.

He was smirking again, "Of course, only the dirty kind". Up until this point she had merely wanted to hex him. Definitely make a few death threats and then be on her way. But his suggestive smirk had now made her want to grab his hair and pull him to her. Or perhaps tear it out. It was all very complicated and confused in her head. But then she calmed herself, as his smirk had also indicated that he was just trying to rile her up.

"I am not short!" she growled. _Wow, real mature response there well done, that'll teach him. _"Why did you come to bother me anyway?" her voice sharp and cold, like a knife cutting through the previously half flirty- half tense atmosphere. Returning to reality, having been shocked out of the routine fighting match he was having with Evans, he realised why he had followed her in the first place. "I just thought you would want to know… Marlene and Mary are the other way" he stated bluntly, and then added a snapped "Goodbye. Dwarf."

"Oh shut up you freakish giant!" she shouted after him pathetically, wanting to have the last word.

"That's what she said" he quipped, shouting back as he closed the door of the carriage and moved into the next one, not even bothering to turn back as he spoke.


	2. Vertically Challenged

_He wasn't even that much taller than her for Godric's sake!_ He wasn't. Lily had always been quite tall and slender, which meant that up until last year boys had been too scared to ask her out for fear of being mocked for being shorter than her. That's what she had assumed anyway. The reality of it was that many boys, whether taller than her or not had been clamouring to date her.

Lily always felt that she was the ugly duckling out of her friends. McKinnon was the typical blonde haired and blue eyed beauty and Mary had flawless ebony skin and an athletic stature craved by many of the boys in Hogwarts. Lily had to sit by while they got their offers to Hogsmeade while she only ever got one invitation. Potter's.

It seemed to Lily as though only one boy was interested in her, and he only asked her to tease her. What she didn't know was that that one boy hexed any other students rumoured to have taken a fancy to his girl, meaning that no one dared risk the wrath of the Marauder's, no matter how much they thought dating Lily would be worth it.

It wasn't her height that was the problem, but honestly, she was very tall. Standing at about 5"10 she was taller than most girls. She had never been self-conscious about her height, although in her earlier years at Hogwarts she stuck out like a sore thumb. If there was one thing to be said about her height it was that it was above average. Definitely above.

_I am not short? What in the name of fire whiskey was he thinking calling her short?_

She had been furiously going over the events of her journey to Hogwarts for the past three days now. With her fiery red hair people expected her to have a temper which flared up and then cooled off quite quickly. However, even though she did fit the stereotype in some ways (she _definitely_ had a temper), she did not cool of as quickly as would be expected and could stubbornly hold a grudge for a lifetime. A really, really long lifetime extended by the Elixir of Life from the Philosopher's Stone.

The dark corridors of the chilly hallways helped to calm her as she marched to the library, desperately in need of solace from her fellow Gryffindor's who were all currently taking bets on whether Sirius would commit some act of lunacy. Lily heard something about 'just in his boxers', 'Great Hall at dinner' and 'serenading McGonagall' and immediately had to escape from fear that she would lose brain cells just being around her housemates.

She made her way over to a small, secluded table which had been her favourite place to study last year and slumped down, unaware of the boy opposite her until she looked up. She had kept her head down while walking to her usual seat and had not noticed the mess of black hair lying on the desk opposite her seat. As she had slammed her bag down and collapsed into the bounciness of the chair his head cracked up.

"WHAT THE FU- EVANS?!" he said as he recognised her in his semi-conscious state. With his lopsided spectacles and his cloudy eyes, Lily thought that he looked endearing. For the brief moment when he was drowsy and between sleep and consciousness, his confusion was loveable. It was a side to him which Lily had never seen.

But just as quickly as she saw this, he straightened his glasses and flashed her a mischievous grin.

"Could you not bear to keep away from me Evans?" he drawled.

_Here we go again. _For a moment she forgot to reply, still a little dazed by his cute display just a second ago, but she rose and hooked her bag on her shoulder. Honestly she was a little hurt that he had reverted to his previous teasing and snide remarks, after she had just been openly admitting to herself that she liked him. Not all of him, but the most important and integral parts of him, she liked.

She caught his gaze, shrugged in response to his question and walked away hoping to find another table in one of the other darker corners of the library.

Beginning work on her essay she realised she would need more information than was given in 'A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration', and so decided with a sigh that she would have to check out a few more books. She began her search for 'Theories of Transubstantial Transfiguration', nodding at Madam Pince as she headed away from the Library's main desk and the desk to which she had relocated.

On the opposite side of the library James sat stunned. _Why hadn't she snapped back at him? _He expected an "As if, Potter" or even a "You wish, git", but he didn't even get a glare. He hadn't had an effect on her and that worried James. Even if she hadn't ever been affected by him in the way he wanted, he could always elicit such strong emotions from her that at least he took comfort in the fact he could get her panties in a twist. Now he only received a soft stare which he thought might have revealed she was hurt, but he revised that thought because he highly doubted it. Evans had made it clear over the years that she did not give two hoots about him.

Falling asleep on his Charms homework was clearly a sign that he shouldn't be doing it. Or at least that's what his Divination professor would say, and although Professor Spinnett was barmy James decided he would trust his judgment today as he really wanted to avoid this assignment. He moved onto his Transfiguration essay and found it easy enough but realised he would need to quote a few more sources to support his writing about the theory of transfiguration.

He swaggered over to that section of the Library to see Lily in the same section. Was this fate? He had clearly been paying too much attention in Divination and would have to amend this behaviour swiftly. Wondering whether to retreat and come back later, he told himself that he was a Gryffindor for Godric's sake! What happened to all that talk about bravery?

He watched her beautiful eyes skimming the copies of books, searching and biting her lip in that way she always did in class when she was concentrating. How was she so sexy without even trying? Then she reached for a book on the top shelf and he had to stop himself from making a noise as he took in a sharp breath. Her short skirt had risen up as she stretched up and James had got a glimpse of her lacy red knickers and the round white flesh of her peachy bottom. Gritting his teeth to try and control himself, he leaned back on the table gripping its edge and watched her search, in awe of her long smooth legs.

In the recesses of the shelves of the Library she ran her fingers over the spines of the books, tapping each one while studying their titles. She moved up the shelves and then leaned her head back to check on the higher shelves. There she saw the leather-bound manuscript she needed and made a grab for it. Balancing on her toes she leaned on a lower shelf with one hand and grabbled for the book with the other.

"Fuck, I _am_ short" she growled defeatedly.

Whipping out her wand she raised her wand to levitate it down when she felt a warm body press against her and breathe next to her ear. As he placed a firm hand on her hip he chuckled, "Vertically challenged, Evans?"

She didn't stop him. She didn't move his hand and enjoyed it when she felt the weight of his body against hers as he pressed towards her to lean up and grab the book. Still unable to face him, she froze and kept her back to him, but she made sure to press into him to indicate that she was relishing this interaction. He wrapped the arm carrying the book around her side and handed it to her, the gesture causing her breath to hitch in her throat. She continued to sink into his chest behind her and felt his fingers move to fiddle with the hem of her skirt. Making like he was feeling the material he grazed the top of her thighs with his knuckles causing the areas where his hands came into contact with her skin to tingle.

She pulled her hair over one shoulder, hoping the gesture wasn't too obvious. Fortunately, he recognised this subtle invitation and took the hint, kissing her neck softly. She purred, quietly urging him on.

"You know what Evans?" he said between planting kisses along her jawline.

"Shhh Potter" she instructed, not wanting an argument to ruin the private moment they were sharing.

"Okay but Evans-" he lifted his head back, persistent in wanting to talk. Lily knew that would not end well for either of them so turned to face him, interrupting him by yanking down on his collar, bringing his face just centimetres from hers.

Leaning forward placing his hands on the shelves and around Lily he looked dazed, like a deer in headlights. Lily could taste his breath and smell the musky scent of spice and citrus as he enveloped her. _Was she prepared to step over that line which she had so sharply drawn between her and Potter?_

"Fuck it" she swore, and sharply tugged him down to her, pressing her lips insistently against his. He responded and deepened the kiss when she flicked her tongue along his. Tasting her made him frenzied and the kiss became greedy and desperate, as they furiously grabbed at each other's shirts unsure of what boundaries they could cross…how far they could go.

Frantically, Lily was pulling at the bottom of his shirt, then unbuttoning it and feeling the toned stomach underneath. He was also working on her top buttons and as her shirt fell away around her chest he paused when he saw that her bra was the same red lace as her knickers.

She quirked an eyebrow when he hesitated, smirking wryly as she asked "Something wrong Potter?"

That simple hummed question almost undid him completely but he fell forward and murmured in her ear, "I just enjoy the fact that you're matching". Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion so James nodded to her bra and her eyes followed his gaze. Suddenly she had a moment of comprehension, his meaning suddenly clear. Her eyes widened momentarily and he thought he had freaked her out, but seconds later she gave him a mischievous grin and purred "You can have them as a reward after if you want".

He felt a tug in his pants and he hardened at her husky voice. This was so out of character for Evans he wanted to question her behaviour. In his state of confusion his eyes betrayed the same feelings she had seen earlier when he had just woken from his nap. It was this belief that Evans would never willingly come near him that made him question "Are you sure you're alright Evans?"

"I'm not under the Imperius Curse if that's what you're wondering" she blushed.

Recognising Lily's blush as typical of this beautiful red head, he realised this was real and she was willingly kissing him. Determined not to delay snogging any longer, he leaned in and grazed her thighs with his hands, moving expertly up her legs making her skin heat up at the contact of his Quidditch calloused hands. He hooked his thumb under the lace while he continued to press his lips to hers. His lips then travelled along her jaw and down to her neck as he tugged the red lace down and she felt them drop to her ankles.

Nervously, she gazed over his shoulder as he nipped her throat, thanking Merlin that they were in the darkest, most secluded area of the Library with the exception of the Restricted Section. She realised, the heady feeling she had as James moved his fingers to her wetness was heightened by the thrill of the risk of being caught.

Surrounded by his aroma, she knew it would not take her long to reach her release and so tried to slow her breathing as she framed his face with her hands and drew him into another forceful kiss. He began to slide over her nub with his thumb, her knees weakening as he sped up. He thrust one finger into her centre, and then two, all the while still circling his thumb around her clit. He swiped in and out and when her mouth fell open he moved down to suck at her neck.

"Faster" she yelped. He heard a sense of urgency in her voice and recollected that they were in a library and Madam Pince could catch them at any point. He quickened the pace of his fingers, engulfing her mouth in another kiss to try and muffle her moans.

"You're so loud" he chuckled against her lips. She tried to scowl but then he rubbed against a spot inside her and a wave of pleasure ran over her.

"There, again" she demanded between short ragged breaths. She inhaled and exhaled unevenly and moaned into James mouth, arching her back as he dipped his fingers into her again and again.

Sensing she was at the brink he slowed his pace, and moved back to circle around her clit with his now moistened fingers, carefully avoiding touching the nub of nerves. He then thrust his fingers deep into her and applied some pressure deep inside her core, while mercilessly claiming her swollen pink lips. Keeping his fingers still, he slowly traced around her clit, teasing her until she whimpered for him to put her out of her misery.

"Please James…please" she begged.

Lily tried bucking her hips but he grabbed them and pressed her back to the wood behind her.

"Don't move" he demanded in a soft voice.

He started his fingers moving in and out again, slowly at first then making his strokes faster and harder and more deliberate. She began breathing heavily again and James felt a wet trickle travel down his fingers.

She finally released a groan as her walls pulsed around his fingers and she climaxed, trying desperately not to scream. She kept shuddering as he thrust into her, prolonging Lily's orgasm for as long as he could. He watched her closed eyes and flushed cheeks as she fell apart under his touch. It was such a beautiful sight to him and when she opened her eyes the electricity between them heightened.

He withdrew from her and gave her a nervous grin, hoping she wouldn't immediately regret her lapse in judgment. She looked at this expression, and realised that what she previously had assumed to be a cocky smirk was in fact a genuine, if not nervous, smile.

Suddenly she realised what she had wanted to say to James the whole time…

"I AM ONLY A FEW INCHES SHORTER THAN YOU!" she cheered triumphantly, her outburst leaving no room for awkwardness between the two of them which he was thankful for.

He grinned, "Good, it means I can reach you to do this" and he leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on her lips.

Then they were interrupted by the shrill thundering of Madam Pince's voice as she shrieked "MR POTTER!" Her eyes glazed over as she saw the second criminal, "LILY EVANS?! What do you two think you are doing? This is a place of learning…" she continued as Lily and James rushed to tidy themselves and button their shirts. Lily even pulled her skirt down to knee length, hoping to hide the extent of their illegal activities. Imagine if Madam Pince had decided to check the aisles of the library a bit earlier? She would be freaking out a lot more (if that was even possible; she currently looked like she was having a seizure).

Announcing their "antics", as Madam Pince called them, to the whole Library, Lily had the decency to blush in embarrassment but James just grinned triumphantly. Seeing this Lily wacked him round the arm with the book that had started it all and James guffawed as he tried to dodge her attack.

Clearly not fond of students snogging in her Library, and spurred on by what she thought was James' laughing insultingly at her, Madam Pince raised her voice again shouting "BOTH OF YOU OUT! NOW!"

James and Lily scrambled away from her, grabbed each of their bags and ran out of the Library. The other students in the library grinned slyly, their smug looks promising to spread the gossip as soon as possible. Lily felt so humiliated, but as she ran she felt Potter grab her hand to pull her out of the doors and down the empty corridors. As they moved away from the hysterical librarian and everyone else's prying eyes she felt herself smile. That's when she knew she not only wanted James Potter, but wanted to be with him as well. So she followed him down the corridor, letting him pull her along behind him.

They finally came to a stop, panting and bending over to clutch at their chests. James was acutely aware of the heaving of Lily's chest and he tried to look away to distract himself. While he seemed to be thinking hard to himself she tried to regain some composure.

Ruffling his messy hair he prepared for her to say 'it was a mistake' and that she 'shouldn't have done it'. He waited for the rejection. But his thoughts were interrupted by Lily as she folded over in hysterical laughter.

Happy for the awkward silence to be broken, he beamed down at her wondering what she was laughing at.

"Care to explain what's so funny Evans?"

Between deep breaths and giggles she said "I left my pants… on the floor in there, she's… going to have a bloody… heart attack when she… finds them"

"Oh darn, now I can't claim my reward" he laughed, mimicking disappointment. He didn't have to try too hard as he _was_ disappointed that he had forgotten them, but he hoped that this wasn't too obvious to Lily.

"No, no you can't" she said softly, and he braced himself for the end of whatever association he had with Lily. He kept his eyes on the rough stones of the corridor floor, standing facing her but only being able to look at her feet, unable to raise his head and face the rejection head on. He continued to wait... _why didn't she just say it already?_

He couldn't take it anymore, he looked up to see her lips curled into a shy smile. "No you don't get that reward" she repeated, then took a step towards him and said "But you can have me instead"

"W-What?" he stuttered, "I thought you hated me?"

"You don't honestly believe that do you, after what just happened?" she quirked her eyebrow, "Don't tell me after all these years you've finally decided you don't want to go out with me just as I've changed my mind."

"Never Lily, I'd never change my mind about you"

Lily felt her heart swelling and James was absolutely ecstatic, but tried to play it cool. The eager grin he flashed her however did not manage to conceal anything from her. _He's such a dork _she thought affectionately.

He kissed her nose and grabbed her hand, walking her down the corridor towards the Gryffindor common room. She smiled to herself thinking about their friends' reaction to this new and very unexpected development in their relationship.

"You know being a gentleman is very difficult knowing you have no pants on" he commented cheekily.

She rolled her eyes at how he had managed to ruin the moment so easily, but giggled when she saw from his facial expression that he really was having difficulty keeping his hands off of her.

"Come on then short stuff, let's find somewhere where we can sort out your little problem" she teased.

"Who are you calling short Lily Ev-" but he was cut off when she ran down the corridor. She turned back at the end of the hall, about to turn the corner, and shot him a look that dared him to chase her.

He sprinted after her, laughing as he scooped her up over his shoulder and announced "I'm going to hold you to that promise Evans, and I'm so obviously taller than yo-"

"Shut up James we're practically the same height"

"Are you _serious_? No way are you even close you midget"

"Just because you're freakishly tall!"

"So you admit I'm taller"

"Yes but I'm not short!"

The bickering continued down the corridor and well into their relationship. They finally determined after years of arguing over the height difference between the two of them that James was taller than Lily, but if James wanted not to sleep on the couch, he would have to admit that Lily was _not_ short.

"James Potter for the last time I am not short!" she shouted as she wriggled on his shoulder, falling into his arms as he placed her feet on the floor.

He held her round the waist, pulling her up against his chest so she was close enough that he could smell the sweet scent of her red hair.

"I know Lily" he murmured, leaning his forehead against hers…

"You're perfect."


End file.
